MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner (3-0) turned in offensive and defensive onslaughts in the final game of the 2022 edition of the Jimmy Faulkner Classic, easily defeating Oakwood (1-3) 92-62 at Tine Davis Gymnasium on Saturday night.
The Eagles connected on 51.4% of their shots for the game, including a 53.1% mark on field goals and 45.5% on three-pointers in the first half, and 65% of their free throws. They held the Ambassadors to a 41.3% mark from the court and just 12.5% from deep, allowing only triples in the first 20 minutes and none after halftime. The hosts collected 51 rebounds to the visitors' 28, and registered 19 assists to 10. Faulkner won the categories of points off turnovers 20-14, points in the paint 60-48, second chance points 13-5 and fast break points 16-10.
C.J. Hines had his best all-around performance of the young season, posting his best marks in all categories but scoring after his 26-point outing in the previous game against Freed-Hardeman. He racked up 16 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for just his third career double-double.
Trace Hill was next in line with 13 points.
T.J. Williams had his most prolific performance in a Faulkner jersey, contributing 11 points and six boards.
Isaiah Brooks registered nine points and seven boards, and he continued his penchant for slam dunks as he gathered in a steal directly off the Oakwood inbound after a
Derrick Donigan bucket and sent one home while absorbing the foul with 18:31 left in the game.
"I thought C.J. was really good, he controls the game," Coach
Scott Sanderson said of his team's individual performances. "I thought Zay (Brooks) played a lot better, I thought Trace played a lot better. And then T.J. off the bench, a big, strong kid, he keeps getting better and better in practice. So, we had a lot of guys who played well tonight."
Jonathan Garcia scored eight points, including two of Faulkner's five converted threes, and three assists. Donigan added six points and five rebounds, while
Derek Murphy added five rebounds and four assists. Hines, Brooks, Garcia and Williams had a pair of steals each.
Leading 3-2, Faulkner began a run on a Hill bucket to take a 15-4 advantage, as Hines followed with a steal and went coast-to-coast for the layup before Garcia's second triple, a Hill three and an
Elijah Jones offensive rebound and basket. A 9-2 Oakwood scoring span then took place to pull the Ambassadors to a 20-15 game before a response in the form of a 10-0 run, including a Hines steal and score inside the visitors' arc immediately following a Hill bucket. The Eagles closed the half by scoring the final 13 points, including a
Raygan Edmondson triple just a second before the buzzer sounded to make the score 47-24.
Faulkner gets a long break before opening SSAC play at Stillman on November 15.
"We've got a long way to go," Sanderson said. "We're trying to improve; we're trying to create better habits on both ends of the floor. We've got our first road game the week after next against Stillman. We've just got to do a better job of cutting down on mistakes."
